KUALA LUMPUR – The unity government led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has seen promising progress towards institutional reforms while moving away from defective policies set by previous administrations, according to political analysts.
However, this administration is not free from political mishaps and genuine concerns over its ability to render change and reform the country’s many structural issues within its socio-economic system.
Speaking to The Vibes, political analyst Assoc Prof Awang Azman Awang Pawi of Universiti Malaya said it is important to note that Anwar had managed to secure a huge majority in Parliament via political cooperation in the aftermath of the 15th general election (GE15), where no political coalition managed to secure a simple majority.
This was paramount, said Awang, as Anwar had even proven his majority in Parliament – a clear testament of his legitimacy after nearly three years of the nation’s political turbulence following the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration in 2020.
“Anwar managed to unite all these parties to form the unity government. Clearly a strong commitment and a sound strategy were needed to execute this, and I consider this already a win for Anwar.
“Not to mention he managed to prove his majority in Parliament…another clear success,” said Awang.
Awang also said that Anwar had taken the right steps in terms of politics and policy to prioritise bread-and-butter issues as well as eradicating abject poverty, especially through initiatives mentioned in the recently announced budget.
Prudent
Anwar, who is also finance minister, announced a whopping RM388.1 billion budget for the year, of which RM289.1 billion is for operation expenditure and RM99 billion for development expenditure, the biggest one yet.
Among the many initiatives he had announced include tax on luxury goods as well as capital gains tax in line with international standards, all the while providing a tax rebate to M40 income households.
Despite this, Anwar’s self-appointment as finance minister has gained negative attention, with opposition leader Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin alleging that Anwar had betrayed the “reformasi” spirit.
However, Awang opined that Anwar was prudent in his deliberation for the post, as many politicians from the unity government were pining for the position.
“The self-appointment was a sort of consensus to ensure that no one party felt that they would be sidelined (if someone else were to take the position).
“Similarly, it is also to ensure that no one would politicise the supposed competition for the post.
“With Anwar helming the Finance Ministry, he also has full access to ensure that the nation’s fiscal policies are in line with his administration,” said Awang.
Pacing reforms to avoid losing further support?
However, Singapore Institute of International Affairs senior fellow Oh Ei Sun told The Vibes that despite the administration reiterating its commitment to institutional reforms, especially in the fight against corruption, there have not been too many notable achievements thus far.
Oh opined that the unity government is pacing their reforms to avoid losing further support, especially in the Malay heartlands ahead of the upcoming six state elections expected to be held by June of this year.
“I frankly think the sporadic corruption-related arrests and prosecutions aside, there are not many major accomplishments in the first 100 days. This is perhaps mainly due to not wanting to further alienate the conservative PN (Perikatan Nasional) supporters, as PN may take over most, if not all, of the six states in the upcoming state elections.
“So far Anwar’s traditional supporters have been patient and understanding, not raising hell at all despite the meagre accomplishments.
“But their patience will wear thin soon after the state elections, signalling that the honeymoon period for the Anwar administration is over. But by then, the Anwar administration itself may also be over,” said Oh.
Oh was referring to comments made by PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang that PN would not stop attempting to “topple” the government through democratic means, indicating that the current government by Anwar is not as stable as repeatedly touted by members of his administration.
This is even further compounded by Anwar appointing Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi as deputy prime minister despite the latter facing several graft charges in court.
Similarly, Anwar also drew flak for appointing his daughter Nurul Izzah as an advisor to his role as the minister of finance.
Both appointments have drawn criticism on Anwar’s priorities in terms of making executive decisions for the country.
Oh said while Zahid’s appointment as Anwar’s deputy makes sense politically to secure BN’s support for the current administration, Nurul Izzah’s appointment may have larger political impact.
“Zahid’s appointment as deputy prime minister is necessary to form the coalition government.
“Nurul Izzah’s appointment is to have somebody Anwar can hopefully trust to look over the finance-related agencies, which had been ‘lucrative’ in the past.
“But nowadays even blood bonds may not guarantee political solidarity, as with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir,” he said, referring to Dr Mahathir’s departure from Pejuang, a party he founded.
Similarly, electoral watchdog Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih 2.0) also chided Anwar for failing to deliver much needed reforms such as the tabling the political funding act, no parliamentary oversight in appointment of key public officials, and equal development funding for all parliamentarians.
In a bid to cut government expenses, Anwar also cut development allowance for MPs to RM1.3 million from RM3.8 million.
This has received intense backlash from opposition MPs, who cried foul over Anwar’s – or rather PH’s – promises to ensure that all federal lawmakers are to receive equal funding to their respective constituencies. – The Vibes, March 6, 2023
Additional reporting by Amar Shah Mohsen
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